Too Old To Strip, Too Young To Die?

On stage she's a stripper named Contessa. Off stage, she's Shirley Zegil. And she's ready to strip away a few perceived pretenses from Toronto-area strip clubs - like the one she says holds that if you're 52-years-old you're too old to strip. nrnAt least, that's what she says a Brantford strip club told her when it fired her recently. And she's taking it to the Ontario Human Rights Commission, claiming Toronto-area clubs are discriminating against her because of her age. She also said they may be freezing her out because she complained about the one club, Moody's Bar. nrnMoody's Bar had dropped her after one night May 15, after they booked her for a week. Club manager Linda Devos told reporters age was no issue since there's a 46-year-old dancing at Moody's - but in Zegil's case, her performance was the issue, not meeting club standards. nrnThe Exotic Dancers Alliance is defending Zegil, telling the Toronto Sun strippers who are old, overweight, or black have trouble finding club work. "All the clubs want thin girls with big boobs," said EDA president Mary Taylor.